To prepare real pasta, only durum wheat is required, which was first used in Italy many centuries ago. The Chinese and Arabs can also be considered the inventors of pasta, but with only one caveat: they used exclusively soft wheat varieties for pasta.

Enterprising Italians were the first to realize that it is durum wheat that is more convenient to dry, store and transport, and therefore distribute around the world. Therefore, the terminology for modern pasta is entirely Italian: fettuccine, bucatini, tagliatelle, spaghetti, pasta - mamma mia, and how not to get confused in this ornate classification?

Understanding: products made from wheat dough mixed in water are called by Italians pasta (it. Pasta - dough), and we - pasta, while in Italy the word maccheroni means a special type of pasta. That's all the wisdom! It remains only to choose the shape and type of pasta that seems the most appetizing to you, but at the same time pay attention to a few things.

Choosing durum wheat pasta

Before you put your favorite pack of pasta into the shopping basket, look at the packaging: the so-called group will be indicated there, which can be of only three types A, B and C (note that the letters are used for designation in Russian).

Preference should be given to group A - these are pasta made from premium durum wheat flour, that is, traditional, real pasta. Groups B and C - pasta made from soft and baking flour - it is better not to choose at all: at first glance, they are no different from real pasta, but when cooked they will boil easily, lose their shape and color, or turn out to be tasteless at all.

A short navigator for pasta varieties: -oni, -ini or -etti?

Pasta might seem like a boring and lacking variety if it didn't have so many variations in shape and size. Useful life hack: if the ending in the name of the pasta variety ends with - they, these are large pasta. The most popular types - plump spaghettoni, canneloni tubes, similar to conciglioni shells and dense, ribbed tortilloni - are almost the very first form of pasta invented.

If the name of the paste ends with - ini, it is a fine or thin pasta: for example, bucatini straws, thin and ringing cappellini, similar to a tripolini tie, and languini, popular all over the world, which are so good with pesto sauce.

Medium pasta falls under the category ending in -etty: Spaghetti is the most popular of this type of pasta. Separately, there are curly pasta (it is impossible to imagine Italian cuisine without the classic butterflies-farfalle), pasta for soups and baking (is it worth reminding that the last category includes lasagna, which is popular all over the world?). Each pasta has its own characteristics and properties - try and choose which pasta you like.

Cook pasta according to all the rules

Usually, the simplest instructions for cooking pasta are indicated on the package. But there are some subtleties: for example, pasta loves space, so the pan should be large, and there should be enough water so that they do not stick to each other. Salt the water immediately after boiling, and after that, dip the pasta there. The easiest way to determine how much spaghetti to cook is to slip it into the thumb and forefinger ring for one serving.

During the cooking process, the pasta needs to be stirred, and so that it certainly does not turn into a shapeless mass, add a drop of olive (or, if it was not at hand, vegetable) oil. Remember that thicker pasta takes longer to cook and thinner pasta takes less time. If this is your first time trying to make a pasta, just follow the directions on the label. Covering the pan with a lid and rinsing them with water after boiling are the main mistakes in such a seemingly unpretentious matter. This is not worth doing, because in both cases, both the taste and the appearance of the finished dish will suffer.

It is believed that the healthiest, tastiest and best digestible pasta should be slightly undercooked: this degree of readiness is called "al dente" - in Italy it is customary to serve pasta in this form. All that remains is to drain the water and add your favorite sauce.

Choosing the right sauce

Pasta sauce is the main ingredient that creates a complete dish. The authors of the book "Russian Cuisine in Exile" P. Weil and A. Genis ironically remarked: "If we compare everyday life with pasta, it is easy to see that spice, sudden love, tomato paste, risky adventures, red pepper, lottery, garlic ". And really, what is pasta without sauce?

It is believed that much more is required for short pasta than for long pasta. With short pasta (fusilli, farfalle, penne, girandole) cheese, vegetable and creamy sauces are best combined, and with long pasta like spaghetti - meat, fish, garlic and nutty ones. Do not be lazy to experiment and try a new combination every time: a variety of pasta can not only be included in your usual diet, but also become a wonderful, quick and almost win-win treat for guests.

Pasta is the most folk food, although they are referred to as Italian traditional cuisine. Affordable price, satisfying, a wide range of dishes ... But that's why our residents get fat on pasta, while Italians remain slim? In addition, they also increase immunity with this product.

You've probably heard that durum pasta is not fattening and is suitable even for those who are on a diet. But only if you do not complement them with various fatty sauces. Editorial staff "So simple!" will tell you how to choose the right pasta and how to cook it so you get the most out of it and a beautiful dish, not a mess.

Durum wheat pasta

The glycemic index of durum wheat pasta is 55 units. To make it easier to understand this figure: boiled potatoes - 65, corn - 70, wild rice - 65, soda - 74, and beer - 110. That is, in such pasta carbohydrates are broken down slowly, due to which you feel the feeling for a long time satiety.

But pasta from soft wheat varieties, that is, of a lower quality, have a higher index and are capable of provoking jumps in blood sugar, which will lead to the formation of body fat.

© DepositPhotos

Good pasta has all the vitamins and minerals you need. B vitamins strengthen the nervous system, vitamin E preserves our youth, tryptophan helps to get rid of nervous tension and insomnia, fiber removes toxins.

Also in pasta there are vital potassium, iron and phosphorus. With the help of dietary fiber, the intestines are actively cleansed of accumulated toxins and toxins. In addition, the difference in price between healthy and ordinary pasta is not at all great. The main thing is to know how to choose one made from durum wheat.

© DepositPhotos

By the way, high-quality pasta consists of only two ingredients - water and durum wheat crushed into grains. So don't be fooled by the fact that a beautiful yellow hue comes from the addition of eggs. Another important point: healthy pasta after cooking, they do not turn white and do not change their shape. So the fact that the pasta is boiling is not your fault, but the composition of this product.

© DepositPhotos

Soft wheat varieties are no worse, they are simply intended for something else. They are used to make bread and pastries. But unscrupulous producers sometimes trick themselves so much that they use flour from grain, which is intended for livestock feed. So it is often not worth pampering yourself with pasta, especially in combination with sauces or even ordinary butter.

© DepositPhotos

So, to choose durum wheat pasta, pay attention to the packaging. It should be marked "Group A" (1st and 2nd grades of grain for flour) - this is durum wheat flour. If you see the inscription "Group B", in front of you are products made of wheat flour of the highest grade, it is good for the production of bread and buns, but not for pasta. And of course, avoid pasta sold in bulk in bags without any labeling or expiration dates.

You can no doubt buy spaghetti and other products of Italian origin, because in Italy, at the legislative level, it is forbidden to use soft wheat varieties.

24.07.2017

Good pasta or pasta, consists only of durum wheat flour and water.

Since about the 14th century, the main difference between pasta is its division into fresh (pasta fresca) and dry (pasta secca).

Fresh pasta is prepared at home or in restaurants. Eggs, spinach, beets and other ingredients can be added there.

Such pasta is not stored for a long time, but is usually cooked and eaten immediately after cooking.

Dry pasta is produced on an industrial scale. They have a long shelf life. These pasta can be bought at almost any store.

But in order to get a quality product that will benefit you, and not extra pounds, you need to know how to choose the right pasta.

I will not consider pasta with the addition of eggs, buckwheat or rice flour. The information below only applies to classic pasta made from wheat flour.

In short, here are the points by which you can determine high-quality pasta before buying in a store:

• The composition on the label indicates one of these options:
  • "Group A"
  • "1st class" (premium flour),
  • "Durum",
  • "Durum wheat"
  • "Semolina di grano duro"
• The protein content is not less than 12 g per 100 grams of pasta. The bigger, the better;
• Pasta should have a smooth surface and smooth and glassy edges;
• The color is yellow, gold or amber;
• Absent or present in the package minimal the number of crumbs and broken pieces of pasta.

Now more about the quality of pasta.

Navigation through the article:

Groups of flour from which pasta is made in Russia

To choose the right pasta, you first need to study the composition on the pasta label. The composition should contain only durum wheat flour and water.

Flour, which is used for the production of pasta in Russia, divided into 3 groups... Groups are designated by Russian letters A, B, C.

A - durum wheat flour or durum

Pasta made from group A flour has a low glycemic index and is rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The water after boiling such pasta remains almost transparent. The pasta itself does not stick together during cooking and keep its shape well after.

On the packaging in the composition of the ingredients, such flour may be called:

• group A;
• Class 1 (premium flour);
• "Durum";
• durum wheat;

On packages of pasta that were exported from Italy, they usually write:

• Semola di grano duro;
• Farina di grano duro;
• Semola di frumento duro.

B - soft glassy wheat flour

Class B flour pasta contains a large amount of starch. Such a product contains fewer beneficial nutrients for the body. The water will be cloudy during cooking. Such pasta will stick together during and after cooking.

• group B (soft flour);
• flour of the first and highest grade;
• Grade 2.

B - soft bakery flour

White pasta made from flour group B. They are very fragile, so there will be a lot of broken pasta, fragments and crumbs in the package. When boiled, they are very soft. By consuming such pasta, you can quickly gain excess weight.

On the package in the composition, such flour may be called:

• group B;
• soft wheat flour;
• baking flour.

After you have found information on the packaging of pasta that it is made from durum flour, then you need to find the amount of protein in the product.

You can indirectly determine the amount of soft flour in pasta by the amount of protein. The more it is, the higher the chance that the durum pasta contains no other flour impurities.

Good pasta contains minimum 12 g protein per 100 g pasta. The higher the indicator, the better the pasta.

If the protein value on the package is below 11 g per 100 grams of pasta, then most likely flour of lower grades was added to the flour of group A. This means that most likely in front of you is a low-quality product.

According to the President of the Russian Grain Union of the Russian Federation Arkady Zlochevsky, the mass fraction of protein in pasta indirectly suggests that low-grade raw materials were used in production. Protein is a parameter that is related to the growing conditions of wheat. Hot and dry weather without drought contributes to the high protein content of the grain. Frosts and rains, on the contrary, lead to its decrease.

Glycemic index (GI) of pasta

Vegetables, fruits, legumes, brown rice, buckwheat and durum pasta (prepared "al dente") are classified as low glycemic foods. They give their energy to the body gradually.

It is worth noting that the glycemic index is not related to calories. A low GI food can be high in calories. Consider this if you are on a diet.

Calorie content, composition and BJU pasta

The calorie content of pasta and nutritional value, namely the amount of BJU (proteins, fats, carbohydrates), may differ. For example, I will take 3 packages of different brands of spaghetti, which are made from different types of flour.

Calorie content of durum wheat pasta, durum, Group A or Extra *:

Makfa brand spaghetti made from durum wheat (GOST 31743):

Caloric value: 344 kcal

Spaghetti n.5 of the "Barilla" brand. Group A. Superior grade. (TU 9149-012-48774716-14):

Caloric value: 359 kcal

Energy value: 1502 kJ

Spaghetti brand "Schebekinskie" Group A. The highest grade. (GOST 31743-2012)

Caloric value: 350 kcal

Energy value: 1464 kJ

Calorie content of soft flour pasta, groups B * :

- Spaghetti Ameria No. 3, from general purpose wheat flour, type M55-23. Group B (GOST 31743-2012)

- Spaghetti No. 4, Extra-M. Group B, top grade (GOST 31743-2012)

- Saomi Vermicelli long, spaghetti. Top grade (GOST 31743-2012)

These pasta from flour group B have the same BZHU and calorie values:

Caloric value: 344 kcal

Energy value: 1439 kJ

*according to the Utkonos online store (07/23/17), which are indicated in the pasta product card.

Let's compare the average values ​​of calorie content and BZHU pasta from durum wheat of group A and indicators of pasta from soft flour of group B:

For durum pasta and for soft flour pasta, the indicators do not differ very much. The table shows that durum pasta has a large amount of protein, fat and calories. The indicators of carbohydrates in the varieties are approximately equal. The amount of calories in pasta made from soft flour is less.

The advantage of durum wheat is that it has a lower starch content. Therefore, you will receive less benefit from pasta made from soft flour, and the chance of gaining excess weight is greater.

Pasta structure

The presence of dark and dark yellow dots on the surface of pasta is the result of grinding whole grains. This means that such pasta will have more beneficial nutrients.

White specks and roughness on the pasta are a sign of poor-quality flour from which they were prepared. It may also indicate a violation of technology or poor test production in production.

The shelf life of pasta directly depends on moisture characteristics... The moisture content of the product must be balanced. This means that if the pasta is overdried, then it will break in the package even at the stage of transportation to the store, and if it is too wet, then there is a chance of mold.

GOST requires manufacturers to observe the moisture content of pasta no more than 13%, and in products for baby food no more than 12%.

Also affects the shelf life acidity product. The higher it is, the less pasta will be stored.

The increased acidity of pasta can be the result of a violation of the drying regime, as well as the use of poor-quality flour in the batch. The acidity should be no more than 3.5-4.

Usually shelf life of pasta from durum wheat is from 24 to 32 months. Subject to storage conditions (temperature no more than 40'C and relative humidity no more than 75%).

Colored pasta

On store shelves, you can find pasta not only in different shapes and sizes, but also in different colors.

The manufacturer paints pasta in red, green, black and other colors. Thus, in addition to color, such pasta receives the aroma and delicate taste of natural dyes, such as:

• Carrot juice
• Beet juice
• Spinach
• Cuttlefish ink, etc.

Such products may differ from simple ones with a reduced shelf life, otherwise they are the same pasta. But again, read the composition. If it contains additives with the “E” code, leave such a product on the shelf.

How to choose quality durum pasta?

After you have read the composition and found durum flour there, as well as the amount of protein above 12 grams, then it is worth looking at the pasta itself. Most manufacturers sell their product in translucent packaging, so it is not difficult to identify quality pasta.

Durum wheat pasta have the following properties:

• The color is golden, yellow, amber;
• The surface is smooth;
• Glassy edges;
• There are no debris or crumbs in the package, or a minimum of them.

Soft Wheat Pasta can be determined by the following criteria:

• The color is white, pale yellow or, on the contrary, poisonous yellow;
• The surface and fracture of macaroni are rough;
• White dots on pasta due to unmixed dough;
• There are a lot of pasta debris and crumbs in the package.

Irina Makhanova, head of the food research department of the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor in the Chelyabinsk Region, notes that the presence of crumbs and scrap in packaging helps to further characterize pasta, both from a qualitative and aesthetic point of view. Strength directly depends on the quality of the flour and the drying mode. The number of broken pasta in a package is an indicator of compliance with technological processes in production.

You can check the quality of the pasta at home when you have already bought it.

If you purchased, for example, spaghetti, then you can check their quality by the following indicators:

• Elastic... Spaghetti from soft varieties or a mixture of flour will easily break with your hands, from hard varieties they will be elastic and will bend to the last.
• Do not stick together... Good pasta does not stick together into lumps during cooking and does not boil too much.
• Do not muddy... The water should not be cloudy. White and sticky water after boiling pasta testifies to their low quality pasta, they contain a lot of starch.
• Do not change color... After boiling, the pasta remains golden yellow in color.
• Keep in shape... Even if you leave them in water for an hour, they will not swell several times and will keep their shape.

After cooking, pasta should retain its appearance and the same shape. what they had in the package.

If you take boiled spaghetti as an example, then split ends and differences in diameter along the length of the pasta will mean poor product quality.

Pasta made from soft flour is very boiled during cooking, and after that it sticks together and does not keep its shape well.

High-quality durum wheat pasta is practically devoid of these disadvantages. It is enough to mix them several times during cooking, and then add a little oil to the finished pasta.

Quality durum wheat pasta do not sell by weight... They are always offered in individual packages. So they retain their useful properties longer and do not deteriorate under the influence of air and moisture.

If the pasta is made in Europe or the USA, then the words on the label can be trusted, unless of course it is a fake. They have stricter food quality control. Most of them offer you a quality product made from good wheat. But check the composition on the label anyway before buying. Import is not a panacea.

Good pasta made from flour group A and high protein always will cost more macaroni made from flour group B and C. But an unscrupulous manufacturer or store can artificially increase the price for a brand, packaging or imported products. Therefore, always read the composition before buying. Don't let yourself be fooled.

High-quality pasta is unlikely to cost less than 50-60 rubles. For a lower price, you are most likely offered pasta made from a mixture of flours of different varieties or unformatted. A good pasta is even more expensive, and a very good one can be offered for 150-250 rubles.

Doubt. Check it out for yourself. Buy 2 packs of spaghetti. One from the segment is 20-40 rubles, and the other from 100-150 and try to cook them at home. I'm sure you will feel the difference.

I usually buy pasta at the supermarket closest to my house. But sometimes it is a shame to waste time on shopping trips. I would love to order groceries with delivery, but in Yekaterinburg everything is sad with this case. But if you are from Moscow, you can buy pasta and other products in the Instamart online store with delivery. If there was a similar service in my city, I would love to use it.

The harm and benefits of pasta

Pasta is a flour product. Like other flour and bakery products, pasta has a low nutritional value, a relatively high glycemic index (especially from soft varieties), and is also high in carbohydrates.

Pasta can harm the digestive system and the body. For example, pasta is contraindicated in people with acute pancreatitis. Their strict diet does not allow them to eat flour products.

With chronic pancreatitis, pasta can be eaten, but with restrictions. The fact is that products made from durum wheat flour give an additional load on the pancreas and pushes the body to excrete more bile. If intestinal motility is increased, then pain may occur, and after stool disturbance.

To eliminate these negative aspects for people with pancreatitis and gastrointestinal disorders, you need to cook pasta as follows:

• Cook until the end and even overcook a little to remove most of the starch. Forget about al dente;
• It is advisable not to fry the ingredients and the pasta themselves in oil, and also not to allow a very fried crust when baking or frying;
• Add only a small amount of oil to finished pasta;
• Eliminate hot and salty sauces.
• It is also recommended to eat pasta in the morning. For dinner, pasta can be too heavy a meal.

For those who follow the figure, you should simply combine the pasta with stewed vegetables and sauces based on them. This will maximize your pasta benefits and not get a lot of calories.

In general, from a weight loss point of view, it doesn't make much difference what pasta you eat. More importantly, in addition to pasta, you also eat, and what is the total amount of your calories per day.

If we consider pasta from the point of metabolism, then it is better to buy pasta from whole grains of durum wheat.

Good quality durum wheat pasta, cooked al dente and seasoned with a little olive oil, is perceived by the human body as bran. These pasta stimulate the intestines and push the digestive system to create more bile for better digestion.

Protein-rich durum pasta is a healthy food item and is recommended in many diets.

By its composition, pasta is highly concentrated fiber and complex carbohydrates. Fiber is hardly absorbed by the body. It helps to remove toxins from it. In the meantime, this process takes place, it creates a feeling of satiety.

Pasta also contains minerals and vitamins such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin B3, B6, B12, E, etc.

Pasta contains "good carbohydrates" that slowly deliver sugar to the body. Carbohydrates are consumed by the body gradually and almost completely. The process is slow, so the appearance of problems associated with the regulation of blood sugar levels is minimized.

The amino acid tryptophan, which is found in pasta, boosts the body's production of serotonin. It is a neurotransmitter of good mood, or as it is also called "the hormone of happiness."

Features of durum wheat or durum. Comparison of hard and soft flour

Wheat has thousands of varieties, but among this variety there are 2 large groups, soft and hard wheat.

Soft wheat is mainly grown in high humidity climates. Such wheat occupies a large part of the market. The main manufacturers are located in Russia, Ukraine, Western Europe, Kazakhstan and the CIS, as well as in Australia.

Durum wheat is grown where the climate is drier. In the USA, Argentina, Asia, North Africa and some regions of Russia.

In Russia, durum wheat is mainly represented by spring species. Such wheat needs about 100 warm days to fully ripen. The crop is usually harvested when the grain moisture content reaches 13%.

Not every climate is suitable for growing durum wheat. Durum spring wheat is sown and harvested mainly:

• In the Trans-Urals. In the forest-steppe part of the Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions;
• On South. In the Krasnodar Territory and the Stavropol Territory.
• In the southeast. In the Volgograd, Saratov and Orenburg regions.
• In the Altai Territory and Omsk Region

According to the head of the information and analytical department of the Russian Grain Union Sergei Shakhovets, there is no exact data on the amount of durum wheat. It is not customary to single out and take into account such varieties on purpose. These statistics are usually kept at the regional level. This is most likely due to the fact that durum wheat is grown under the order of large processing enterprises that produce pasta.

Durum wheat is in many ways similar to soft wheat, but it has its own characteristics.

Features of durum wheat:

• Long and dense ear.
• The grain is elongated, tough and small in size. Enclosed in a flower film that prevents excessive shedding.
• The color of the grain is the same. Brownish or yellowish tint.
• Flour from such wheat absorbs liquid well and does not stale for a long time.

The best semolina and pasta are obtained from such wheat.

Representatives are, for example, varieties of spring durum wheat Lilek and Nikolasha, bred by the Research Institute of Agriculture of the South-East.

Features of soft wheat:

• The ear has thin walls and more empty space in the straw.
• The grains are larger and softer.
• The color of the grain can be white, yellow, burgundy.
• Flour from such wheat absorbs liquid worse and is subject to rapid hardening.

Flour from such wheat is mainly used for the preparation of bakery and confectionery products.

Representatives are, for example, varieties of winter soft wheat Gubernia and Kalach 60, bred by the Research Institute of Agriculture of the South-East.

Looking inside, the structure of soft and durum wheat is also different.

In hard pasta, starch has a crystalline structure, in soft varieties it is viscous. So when cooking the latter, a large amount of dry matter and starch passes into the water, which make the water cloudy.

The current GOST allows no more than 6% of dry substances that pass into water.

Igor Pavensky, a leading expert at the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), believes that grain production is directly proportional to the consumption of processed products. And the amount of durum wheat that was grown in Russia can be calculated using data on the production of durum flour. To do this, you need to apply in the calculations the coefficient of conversion of the produced flour into grain, which is approximately equal to 1000 kg of flour from 1330 kg of grain.

The current GOST for pasta. Pasta production in Russia

GOST 31743-2012... Pasta products. General technical conditions.

This standard applies to pasta made from wheat flour and water, including egg and vegetable (with vegetable powders).

Date of publication: June 17, 2013

Date of update: 05.05.2017

Pasta is a familiar and popular product for Russians. Almost every family uses it. Pasta is loved for its ease of use, satiety, good taste and affordable price.

Pasta is an everyday commodity. According to ROMIR Monitorin, in 2014, 94% of the population over 18 purchased pasta in stores. The average consumption of pasta in Russia is about 7 kg per person per year.

The most preferred type of pasta in Russia is spaghetti. Their sales reach 20% of the total pasta market.

According to 2015 data, about 150 enterprises produce pasta in Russia. If we take all the production of pasta in Russia, then the geographically maximum production capacity is distributed as follows:

• Central Federal District - 40%;
• Ural region - 17%;
• Volga region - 16%;
• The rest is 27%.

The volume of durum wheat obtained in Russia is insufficient for all producers, since the harvest directly depends on the weather in summer and on the quality of the land.

In Russia, there is a problem of shortage of flour from durum wheat. Manufacturers are tempted to save their money by diluting expensive durum flours with cheaper soft flours in the production process. That is, when buying pasta from hard varieties of a domestic manufacturer, there is a small chance of purchasing a low-quality product.

The trouble is that, according to current standards, unscrupulous manufacturers can hardly be caught in deception. The existing GOST implies only one outdated method for determining the admixture of soft flour. It allows you to identify more than 10% or less than 10% of the soft flour contains the product. In GOST there are restrictions on the content of such flour at 15%, but it is physically impossible to measure it.

Another method of testing in laboratory conditions, allows you to check the proportion of soft flour by the content of protein and dry matter passed into the water. But the data obtained is not entirely accurate.

That is, it is difficult to check an unscrupulous manufacturer. Which is what some people use.

Doctor of Biological Sciences Vladimir Dukharev believes that in Russia there is a problem with the uncontrolled use of soft flour of groups B and C in the production of pasta from durum wheat flour. Usually not the largest or well-known manufacturers are guilty of this. But still, according to various estimates, the share of such products is 30-40% of the market.

But it’s not that bad. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with a large-scale study in assessing the quality of spaghetti on the Russian market, which was conducted by Roskachestvo and Rospotrebnadzor. The fan research has shown that the domestic spaghetti market can be called high-quality and highly competitive. Russian manufacturers, for the most part, are not inferior in quality to eminent Italian brands.

I have tried many different brands and types of pasta. Over time, I have reduced to 5 the number of pasta makers that I like more than others.

For my recipes, I buy the following brands of pasta in stores:

1. Barilla
2. Shebekinskiy
3. LEVANTE
4. Agnesi
5. Trattoria di maestro Turatti

These pasta do not boil over, do not stick together during cooking, and then remain elastic. They contain a large amount of protein (from 12 g), look good and taste good.

In part, this choice was helped by me to make supermarkets within walking distance from home. Since I am limited by their range. But the choice is still good, and the cost also plays a role. Usually I don't take pasta more expensive than 120 rubles per 0.5 kg. Only if they have some unusual form of pasta that I haven’t cooked yet or interesting packaging.

This is my subjective choice of pasta based on my culinary experience and 3 years of running a pasta site.

You can write your favorite pasta brand in the comments. If I see it in the store, I'll take it for a sample.

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Hello everyone!

I am a lover of Italian pasta, I often like them much more than the advertised Shchebeken ones.

Bought these pasta at the Crossroads, n about the action for only 59 rubles. Oh, these shares, there would be more of them.

From the manufacturer:

Composition, BZHU:

I can say how to distinguish durum wheat pasta from regular flour pasta. You just need to look at the amount of protein in 100 grams. product. If the protein is 12 gr. and higher(I met 13 grams of protein per 100 grams of a product) this means that durum pasta, which will not harm your figure, and even, on the contrary, such pasta contains a large amount of fiber, which will benefit the body. Pasta, which contains less than 12 grams of protein per 100 grams, is made from regular flour, which contains a large amount of starch, which leads to weight gain. In these pasta I saw for the first time that the amount of protein is 14 grams (!!!) which is very good.

Packed pasta in a cardboard box blue, easy to open from the top.

Sami light yellow pasta, in shape they resemble round tubes with ribs. All pasta is the same shape.

Cook pasta until ready, but so that they were "by the teeth", I don't like boiled pasta.

Additives can be I have very different, this and with cream cheese, and bacon with cheese and cream (carbonara) or for example pasta with pesto sauce, here, as they say, for an amateur.

Barilla pasta I buy not the first and not the last, they high-quality, made really from durum wheat, which will only benefit.

From the editor. The choice of quality and truly healthy products for a healthy diet is not an easy question. Are manufacturers always honest with us and the labels on the packaging are true? It is practically impossible for a simple buyer to check this on his own. The Lady Mail.Ru project is launching a series of materials together with the expert portal Roskontrol.RF. In them, we will tell you about the laboratory test results of popular dietary products.

Nutritionists have long refuted the myth that pasta can help you gain weight. Today we know that high-quality durum wheat pasta will not harm the figure, but, on the contrary, will help keep yourself in great shape. They are rich in protein, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus. They also serve as a source of complex carbohydrates, which, when gradually absorbed, saturate us for a long time.

The only thing left is to choose the “right” product from the huge variety on the market. Ten samples from well-known manufacturers were selected for the examination: Shebekinskiye cones, Gallina Blanca noodles, Makfa, Don Gusto and Genuss Pur pasta, Barilla and Vkusvill spaghetti, Maltagliati and PastaZarati pasta with tomato and spinach and PastaZara and bio pasta with nettle Alce Nero.

Pasta varieties

Have you ever had a situation when purchased high-grade pasta quickly boiled down, turning into a dish that was by no means of the highest category? The ability to keep its shape during cooking, as well as the beneficial properties of pasta, depend primarily on the kind of flour from which wheat they are made. According to Russian standards, pasta is divided into:

Group A (from durum wheat flour); the group, in turn, is divided into grades - the highest, the first and the second. These pasta have the best cooking properties and are the healthiest. Accordingly, they are more expensive.

Group B (from soft wheat flour for pasta); there are practically no such products on the shelves of our stores.

Group B (from wheat bakery flour or flour of general purpose, i.e. from soft wheat varieties), is divided into grades - the highest and the first. The lowest quality and cheapest pasta, when cooked, they quickly lose their shape and stick together.

All samples tested belong to the highest grade and group A, because it is precisely such pasta, as you remember, that is appropriate in a dietary low-calorie diet. Nevertheless, small admixtures of soft wheat are present in Pasta Zara and Don Gusto pasta - about 3% and Vkusville - about 7%. This amount of soft wheat is not a violation and is allowed by the regulations. In pasta made from durum wheat, no more than 15% impurity of other grains is allowed. But, if you are losing weight, choose a product in which such additives are not found.

Impurities of soft wheat were found in VkusVill pasta

Fiber for slimness

Dietary fiber or fiber is an indispensable element of a healthy diet. In more or less amounts, it is found in all herbal products, it is recommended to be included in the menu for those who want to lose weight. That is why the consumer is happy to find on the paste packaging information about the fiber content, which is quite decent for this product.

Macaroni maker Genuss Pur has indicated that the product contains 3 grams of ballast. The examination showed that in fact there are 16 times less of them, namely 0.18 grams.

Genuss Pur spaghetti contains significantly less fiber than the packaging claims

Packaging of Italian spirals with nettles from Alce Nero tells about the vitamins contained in nettles, which they included in the product. Maybe nettle is healthy, but do pasta, which contains it in miniscule amounts, benefit from this? Experts calculated that there are very few vitamins in such a concentration of nettle, as well as fiber, the amount of which again does not correspond to the declared amount - they promised 3 grams, but in fact there was only 0.56. Therefore, you should not count on additional bonuses from the action of nettles.

How does it taste?

When examining any food products, their organoleptic characteristics (appearance, taste, smell, consistency) are necessarily determined, and tasting is also carried out. In our case, the pasta was examined in two stages - first a consumer tasting, then an expert test in the laboratory.

The Italian PastaZara and Maltagliati won the tasting, as well as the Russian pasta "Don Gusto" - all received a rating of 4.2 on a five-point scale. Gallina Blanca vermicelli seemed the least tasty to the tasters, which received 2.7 points.

The most unusual of the tested samples - pasta with nettles of the Italian brand Alce Nero were in the penultimate place in the consumer tasting, along with the Russian "Vkusville" - perhaps the tasters were confused by the unusual taste and green shade of Italian spirals.

The experts agreed that all samples meet the organoleptic standards, the highest rating was given to Gallina Blanca, and the lowest - to Don Gusto.

Flour quality

The paste was also investigated in terms of ash content (the amount of minerals contained in flour). The higher the ash content, the lower the grade of flour used in making pasta. Excessive ash content indicates that flour of a lower grade than stated on the package was used. It turned out that the ash content slightly exceeds the standard value indicated in the GOST for Makfa (durum wheat, premium grade). However, the excess is insignificant - the indicator is only 0.01% higher. This suggests the presence of a small admixture of lower grade flour in the composition of pasta.

Safely! You can eat

There were no violations of safety standards in the tested samples: none of them were infected with pests of grain stocks. Several samples were selectively checked for the content of pesticides - the permissible level was never exceeded anywhere.

The percentage of protein (on a dry matter basis) was also within the acceptable range, but there was a discrepancy between the actual values ​​and those indicated on the label. For the products of Italian manufacturers Maltagliati, Pasta Zara, Barilla and Alce Nero, experts noted a slight discrepancy between these two parameters: in fact, the protein in them turned out to be less than the manufacturer stated. And in the Russian pasta and the German sample, on the contrary, the protein contained more than the declared one. And this parameter is one of the most important in the diet.

Many of us are worried about whether there are artificial colors in colored pasta. In all tested samples, those were not found. For example, in Maltagliati and Pasta Zara, natural ingredients are used as dyes - dehydrated tomato and spinach, as indicated on the label. In the Alce Nero sample, nettle acts as a dye.

All samples met the requirements of the national standard for this type of product in terms of "moisture". The lower the moisture reading, the better the product will be stored. The best result was shown by Barilla spaghetti, the worst - by Don Gusto.